Pages

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Coming to Canada - Part 4

Once my chances of getting a job at IBM went down the drain, I had to make up my mind: should I find a way to get to Saint John (after all, I knew some people there, even if it was by phone) or should I stay in Toronto and look for job there? I spoke with Gaby and we decided that it was better to stay in Toronto, first because the job market was bigger and secondly because our money was disappearing fast, due to the cost of the hotel and the rental car.

Somebody in Argentina had told me that there were many Job Fairs in this area, where many IT companies were coming, looking for people. I spent most of my days looking for an apartment, a job and places where I could eat for less money. I travelled Toronto from North to South and from East to West, but I couldn't get anybody to rent me an apartment, due to my lack of references. My job search was also going badly: nobody was calling me back or replying my e-mails, and I couldn't get any jobs that would at least bring some monetary relief while I continued looking for my opportunity. I remember applying for positions at places like Zeller's, Burger King, Dominion Supermarket and Tim Hortons. But nobody called me. I started to think that it was because they realized that I wasn't going to last long, but then I realized that that time of the year (November) was probably the most difficult, as many people who work on construction and similar areas during the summer were looking for something to get through the winter. My chances of getting a job were very little, and I began to feel depressed.

November came, and I went looking for a job to a Job fair at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. After having tried my luck in different booths, I found one that had a posting for which I qualified perfectly; let's say that it fit like a glove. The only problem was that it wasn't a Canadian company, but one based in Boston, Massachusetts. I applied anyway, and gave them my résumé; to my surprise, they wanted to interview me right away. I was even more surprised when they offered me a job right on the spot. I could not believe it: how come I had impressed them that much? I knew that it normally took two or three months for anybody to contact you back after a job interview, so that couldn't be normal. They offered me very good money, and they also assured me that my status in Canada wouldn't be in peril, as they would issue me an H1-B visa; since Boston is only three hours away from the border, I would be able to go to Canada every second or third week to maintain my landed immigrant status. That was a relief, but still we had many doubts; we had gone through all the paperwork and interviews in order to come to live and work in Canada, not USA.

We discussed this with Gaby, and evaluated pros and cons: the area was very expensive, but beautiful, and my job looked very attractive. At the same time, I was worried about putting my status in Canada at risk, but the truth was that our savings were decreasing dramatically. With more doubts than certainties, we decided that I would accept the offer, so I signed my contract on November 22nd. They promised that I would be working by January 2001. Even more, my contract had a clause saying that I would be evaluated for a raise in January 2002, after having worked for a year. I decided to go to Boston in December, to find a place to live; in the meantime, my brother offered me to stay with them until my visa was issued, which I thanked immensely. I called Gaby, and we started to get ready for our reunion; Gaby and the kids would arrive in New York on December 20th. We would spend Christmas and New Year together with my brother and his family, and then we would go to Boston. Was that the end of my Canadian dream?

This is so exciting. Your life is like something out of a movie.. I think that sometimes we (Canadians) forget how good we have it so many different ways. Reading your story reminds me again of how wonderful Canada really is. I'm so glad that you ended up here. :)

Guille said in a comment about Post #3 that this looked like those comedies of errors, but the difference is that it all happened, and we were having very little fun.

Not only Canadians don't realize how great of a country this is, I think that sometimes we immigrants idealize this whole process. People seem to believe that you come to Canada, and Stephen Harper and Tie Domi will be waiting for you at Pearson, one holding the key of your new house, and the other one with a job contract and a pen. The truth is that this is a brutal process most of the times, and that's why I get so mad when people back home say things like "Oh, you must be shovelling money in now; you really did it well, eh?".